KING CITY — Students from King City High School’s Interact Club have joined with artist Jennifer Beebe Hargrove to paint a new mural featuring a message of solidarity on the side of the school gymnasium.
The finished mural will have people from many different walks of life around the text “Make a Difference in the World.”
KCHS Interact Club, sponsored by Rotary Club of King City, is dedicated to community service and was formed this year with 100 members and about 40 active members, including current president and senior Allison Wagner.
Because of the need for social distancing during the Covid-19 pandemic, 10 club members have worked with Hargrove in small groups on the two-week painting project. Hargrove said the mural itself was the result of idea submissions from club members, and she took 40 hours to compose the layout of the design.
The virus also delayed the project, as Hargrove said painting would have begun this past spring otherwise.
“We’re trying to be somewhat socially distant,” Hargrove said. “We’re having less students come during the day than we had originally planned and spreading the work out.”
Steve Adams, a Rotarian and King City’s city manager, said the club wanted to both beautify their campus as well as send a message about solidarity. The proposal and planning process took months, from the approval by South Monterey County Joint Union High School District, to designing and fundraising.
Along the way, the students hosted a barbecue fundraiser and the KCHS Class of 1966 provided a substantial donation. The total budget for the project was estimated between $4,000 and $5,000.
“They wanted to select a message that would be inspirational to the students succeeding them and find a location where everyone would see the message each day,” Adams said about the words and location of the mural. “The mural depicts a collage of pictures beginning with images of how students can make a difference now, how they can work towards making a difference in the future, and then ultimately different ways to make a difference in the future.”
The mural is on the exterior gymnasium wall facing the cafeteria. Painting was expected to conclude by Aug. 1.
